Spring Cleaning? No Thanks. I'll Read Some More Blogs.

I might be the laziest person on the planet. I just can't get myself organized. I don't really even want to start. All I want to do is read blogs, read my books, play with the kids, and that's about it.

What I need to do is some spring cleaning.

Not to mention the laundry. How is it that the laundry piles up like it does? I can't seem to get on top of it. It just seems like one minute I will be so proud of myself for having it all done, and the next minute my husband is huffing because he's out of underwear. Shame on me for letting him run out of clean undies.

I have a friend who has two kids and she manages to keep her house clean and organized while also going to school to get her master's degree and student teaching. How is this possible? I've never found the secret. All I have to do is work two days a week and keep the house.

Tell me, how do you keep your houses? What's the trick? Does anyone know a personal organizer? Maid service? Laundry service? Time saving tips and tricks?

Spring Reading List 2008

I am so excited! The Spring Reading Thing is here!

Last year when I participated, I didn't read as much as I thought I would. So this year, I am going to start small and expand as I read, so come back again.

As I posted earlier, I have been reading all of the Baxter Family Series books by Karen Kingsbury. I am currently reading Someday (Sunrise Series-Baxter 3, Book 3). I can not recommend these books enough.

My next book is Between Sundays also by Karen Kingsbury. A friend gave me a copy to read since I have enjoyed her other books so much. I will probably read this one next since I have to wait until the final book in the Baxter Series comes out.

Finally, I have had The Yada Yada Prayer Group (Yada Yada Prayer Group, Book 1) sitting on my nightstand for a couple of months. It is the first book in a series by Neta Jackson. I am looking forward to reading this one!

In non-fiction, I have plans to read and implement the strategies in The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness by Dave Ramsey, however, I don't have a copy of that book yet.

So, that's it for now. If I get through those, I will add on, but this time, I'm keeping it simple. I can't wait to see what everyone else is reading.

You can participate, view reading lists of other people, get some tips and find out what it's all about by clicking here. Many thanks to Katrina of Calapidder Days
for hosting!

Oh, to Win this Prize. Yum!

There is a contest for $25 gift certificate to Outback Steakhouse at the blog of Chilihead, Don't Try This At Home.

Outback is one of my favorite local places to eat and because we have four mouths to feed, it is a place we seldom go anymore. To say that I want to win this contest would be an understatement. So I will tell you all about what I will do when I win this contest.

First, I will call ahead to get our name on the list. They have "call ahead seating" here. Then I will load up the car with everyone, unless I can find a sitter and then I will leave the kids home with some hotdogs and/or PB&J.

Second, I will sit at the lovely table and look over their special menu items that they have especially because they are celebrating their 20th anniversary this month.

Finally, I will eat like the non-dieting person I want to be. And then I will relish the moment and maybe even order dessert. After all, I have a gift certificate for $25. How awesome is that?

Thanks Chilihead!

If You Need to Purify Water, I'll Ask My Nephew

Do you remember doing science projects in school? I do. Mostly I remember coming up with a hypothesis and then trying to prove or disprove it. I never understood that. Why wouldn't you just come up with something you want to know and then do some tests to figure it out?

The only project I can remember doing was about the taste of Coke vs Pepsi vs "Big K Cola". Well, I did some taste tests at school during recess. The kids were all too happy to get a small cup of Coke. (That's what we here down south call all carbonated drinks. For example: "Jewgit the cokes at the WalMark?" means "Did you purchase soft drinks at the grocery store?")

Anyway, the kids. They just wanted a little bit of coke. Which was great the first day. I was the most popular girl at school that day. I would give them 3 small cups of each and they would have to guess which was which and tell me which was their favorite. It worked out beautifully for the first day. After that, the 2 Liter bottles lost all of their fizz. Well, who wants flat Big K cola? Nobody. I couldn't get anybody to say that they liked any of them or if they could decide which was which, because, well, yuck.

Needless to say, I wasn't winning any awards for my scientific prowess.

Which is completely opposite of my brilliant 7th grade nephew. He won first place at his middle school, first place in his subject for the region and third place in the region overall. Pretty cool, huh? I am so proud of him. Oh, and his project? He did testing on some creek water in his neighborhood to see if he could purify it for drinking. And that is about all I can remember. That and he said he was dealing with e coli in that very creek water. Maybe next year he can do a project about prescription drugs in their tap water.

I Have A Question!

There must be a party going on somewhere. I can't seem to get anything done because I can't quit looking at all of the wonderful party posts of the over 1100 partiers. Amazing the turnout those girls at 5 minutes for Mom get at these bloggy festivities.

I figure that I had better start posting this week if I am going to post my 100 things about me during the UBP '08. I am not completely sure I know 100 things about myself to begin with, but here's hoping.

The weather here is very comfortable with temps in the upper 60's, so I threw my kids out into the back yard. I hope they run and run and run and then run some more. We could go to the playground down the street, but they seem to be enjoying the back yard just as well. If anyone is still there from the blog party, I have a question. I was wondering if any of you have/had play sets for your kids and if you have any recommendations for those. We went to Lowe's and Home Depot and looked at what they have and we got a mailer from Toys R Us and looked at what they offer. They all look pretty much the same to me. Is one better/cheaper/more fun/more durable than the others?

I hope to get some good answers to this in the comments. My kids are 2 and 4 and we would like to pick the best one that will grow up with them and that we will enjoy for years to come.

Let's Get This Party Started!

Click the banner to go to the 5 Minutes For Mom website where the party is going strong!

OK, so I'm like 2 or 3 days late. But I couldn't help it. Friday, when the party officially began, I had to work 12 hours and yesterday I couldn't get into Blogger to post when my kids were occupied doing other things, so I know that you will all forgive me for being just a little more than "fashionably" late to this wonderful bloggy partay.

Let me introduce myself. I am an almost 40 year old mother of a 2 year old and a 4 year old, who will be 3 and 5 within a matter of weeks. I am the wife of a "younger man" He is 35 and doesn't mind calling me "the old lady" since I am older than he is. His friends wonder how he gets away with calling me that, but they don't know that he seldom, if ever, calls me that when I am present.

I am a nurse, but only work part time. It's all I can handle and at the same time, I couldn't handle not working. It's a nice break. I blog about my kids, I post funny videos sometimes, I talk about my futile attempts at losing weight and exercising, and many other random topics. You never know what is coming next.

I participated in the UBP 2007 and found some really great blogs. I hope that I will be one that you come back to during the next year, so come on into the blog. Look around. Make yourself at home. Comment if you'd like. I would call myself a random and sporadic blogger, but I like to think that I will post more often. Maybe. I hope.

Anyway, if you check back very soon, I will be doing a "100 Things About Me" post when it is my 100th post, which is coming in just a few more posts, so stay tuned. I hope to get it in during the festivities of this Ultimate Blog Party '08.

Enjoy!

It Starts March 20

Callapidder Days Spring Reading Thing, that is. Last Spring I participated in the SRT '07 and it was great fun. I even won a book! Diva Nashvegas by Rachel Hauck; it was actually very good.

This year I have read all of the Karen Kingsbury Baxter Series books, so I will have to pick some books that are equally as captivating. I can't imagine what they will be, but when I get my nose out of the two remaining Sunrise Series books I am finishing now, I will have a better idea of what they will be.

Just suffice it to say that I am looking forward to



Hope to see you there!

Catching up....again.

It's already March. Can you believe that? I just don't know where the time goes.

Just to let you know a little about what I've been doing the past month or so since I have posted anything.

I have read the entire Redemption Series by Karen Kingsbury, the entire Firstborn Series by Karen Kingsbury and I am into the Sunrise Series by Karen Kingsbury now. Let me tell you it is the greatest diversion from reality I can think of. Especially since the writer's strike took away any decent television. (Speaking of the writer's strike and on a completely unrelated note, did you know that on "The People's Court" when the Plaintiff and Defendant are walking in they don't have a narrarator to tell the summary of what the case is about because apparently no other person who works on the set could come up with anything?) Anyway, I have been knee deep into the lives of the Baxters, the Flanigans and Dayne and Katy Matthews. I thought about blogging about each book, but let me tell you, I just couldn't have done them justice. These books are really, really good. They are easy to read and the suck you in like you know these people and live among them. I have dreamed about them, wondered what was going on with them when the story line would shift off of them. I've even been mad at some of the characters for doing something in the story. The best part is that when you finish one of the books, there is another one that picks up where the last one left off. You don't have to learn another set of characters and you don't have to learn a new author's style. I can not recommend these books highly enough.

The other thing I have been doing is exercising like a mad woman. I have lost only 5 pounds by the scale, but I think my measurements have changed although I haven't really been measuring them. Maybe I should start that so I can update my progress in that area.

My kids and I have been sick sick sick. For our first round, the doctor called it "flu-like cold symptoms" and said treat with Tylenol and Motrin. I felt like we didn't need her to tell us that and I could have saved my co-pay, so in the second round I waited until my son had ear pain before we went to the doctor to tell us that he has an ear infection. I think I have had 3 different versions of the "flu-like cold symptoms" and am dealing with a bit of that now. My nose feels like it is 3 times it's normal size and my head feels like it could explode. So, clearly, I am in a wonderful mood.

Hopefully I will be blogging more often as I am planning to participate in the Ultimate Blog Party on March 7-14. It may be that my 100th post falls during that week and I will post 100 things about me. I have no idea what 100 things about me will be, but I am sure it will be riveting entertainment for the one person who reads my blog and those unsuspecting new folks who will stumble onto my blog.

Anyway, until next time, if you haven't read all of the Karen Kingsbury Series books, GO AND GET THEM and then we can discuss. They are wonderful.